The one-time Texas commitment erupted for game-high totals of 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Huskies to a stunning 63-53 upset victory of Florida. It pushed them into Monday's national championship game for the first time since they won the title in 2011.

Daniels grew up in Los Angeles following the Longhorns and players such as Kevin Durant during his youth. He was an early commitment to Rick Barnes' program, linking with the Longhorns in the ninth grade.

But after moving to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., Daniels realized that playing for UT wouldn't give him the chance to blossom as he wanted.

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"I think the reason why I de-committed was because I felt like it wasn't the best fit for me," Daniels said. "And that's when I came to UConn, and I'm happy with the decision I made."

Defense sets tone

Florida, the No. 1 seed of the tournament, saw its nation-best 30-game winning streak end against the same team that defeated it last.

But unlike the Gators' 65-64 victory on Dec. 2, the Huskies dominated after a slow early start. A ferocious defensive effort from Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright set the tone as the Gators were limited to 38.8 percent from the field.

Florida leading scorer Scottie Wilbekin finished with four points, struggling to 2-for-9 shooting as he battled cramps during most of the second half.

Wilbekin finished with three turnovers, one more than he had in his first 212 tournament possessions.

"On offense, we just couldn't get anything going," Wilbekin said. "They were really aggressive, and we couldn't get in our offense. We weren't moving the ball as well and a couple of us were having bad shooting nights."

Florida (36-3) started fast, jumping to early leads of 7-0 and 16-4 as it dominated the smaller Huskies inside from the outset. The Gators grabbed five offensive rebounds during the game's first five minutes and managed only one during the rest of the half.

Daniels helped dig the Huskies (31-8) out of their early hole as he was productive both inside and outside after the early funk. He finished by hitting nine of 14 shots as he scored 20 points for the second time in three games.

In the process, he fulfilled a bold prediction he made earlier this week to former Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun, becoming the first player with 20 points and 10 rebounds in a national semifinal game since Carmelo Anthony in 2003.

"He was telling me, 'Man, nobody is talking about you,' " Daniels said. "All I told him was not to worry about it because everybody was going to be talking about me after the game today."

Big run seals win

The Huskies finally got going during an 11-0 run midway through the first half that started and ended with 3-pointers by Daniels.

Florida's shooting struggles came after the early surge. The Gators hit only two field goals in the final 9:50 of the half as Connecticut hit them with a 21-6 spurt to take control of the game.

And after Florida had closed to 43-40 on two Patric Young foul shots with 8:03 left, Connecticut hit nine of its final 10 shots to ice the victory.

The Huskies will be attempting to become only the second team seeded seventh or higher to win the title. Only Villanova, a No. 8 seed in 1985, has won the championship seeded higher.

Young scored 19 and Casey Prather added 15 for Florida, which saw its season end for a second straight season at AT&T Stadium. The Gators lost in the South Region finals to Michigan last season.